russia’s elites came to terms with defeat in war after loss of Kherson — russian media

The retreat of russian troops from Kherson became a painful event for russia's elites — they came to understand that "the real war has been lost."

This was reported by Meduza with reference to sources close to the administration of russia's president and the government of the russian federation, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to Meduza interlocutors, the retreat from Kherson became "a very painful event" for the russian elites.

A source close to entrepreneurs from vladimir putin's "close circle" expressed the following: "Understanding has come — we lost the real war. People are starting to think about how to live on, what place they would like to occupy in the future, what bet to place, on what play. (On the one hand — ed.) there will be revanchist sentiments. On the other hand, there will be a request for normalization and stabilization."

However, according to Meduza, the political bloc of the administration of russia's president is more optimistic. In particular, according to one of the sources, the kremlin still hopes that "the consensus in support of Ukraine will collapse" in the West due to the need for cheap energy carriers.

According to the publication, the kremlin's second hope is a sharp change in the political situation in Ukraine and the resignation of Volodymyr Zelensky. In addition, the russian authorities believe that in a few months, the russian army will become more combat-ready through mobilization and will turn the tide at the front.

At the same time, the sources of the media outlet in the PA claim that the withdrawal from Kherson did not affect the mood of the majority of russians because this event did not have time to be "promoted" in propaganda, and people "did not get fired up." In his opinion, for this reason, russians easily accept official explanations that the city had to be left. Meduza emphasizes that the data of public opinion polls also further confirm these theses.

At the same time, sources among regional politicians and businessmen do not believe that the kremlin will be able to turn the situation around. The interlocutor in the regional branch of United Russia summarized: "What happened in Kherson is perceived as a shame and the result of a mess in the state, as they suspected, but not to such an extent."

According to another regional official, "the feeling of someone else's war began to arise" in his circle.

A source close to the government said that against the background of constant military defeats, they became even more worried about the "complete secrecy of russia's top leadership": "We are not informed about anything, we learn a lot from the news — Ukrainian and Western. It seems that we are constantly making concessions, and we are still trying to hide it."

The publication notes that such a "depressing impression" appeared, particularly after the kremlin's actions regarding the "grain deal." Among high-ranking officials, the position of representatives of the "elite" who "do not fully fit into the special operation" seems increasingly reasonable.

However, according to Meduza sources, despite all the discontent, officials and businessmen in the russian federation have no intention of taking any action against putin: "They just want it all to end as soon as possible."